Fly fishing is a fine art and fly fisherman want the best possible reel. My U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,772 describes a fly fishing reel with many desirable features, including an adjustable drag, a replaceable spool, and a reversible clutch mechanism. The drag adjustment is made by means of a drag knob, but the drag knob turns with the spool which some users do not find desirable. It is also noted that the drag is adjustable through a range established by the type and number of drag washers and the strength of the spring provided to compress the drag washers. This results in a trade-off between providing a relatively wide range of drag adjustment and providing an extremely precise drag adjustment within a smaller range. However, in order to change the range of the drag adjustment, it would be necessary to at least partially disassemble the reel to provide substitute parts.
As noted above, the spool of the fly fishing reel in my U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,772 is removable for substituting a different spool, with fresh or different line. This is accomplished by removing a nut and sliding the reel from an axle tube. This is a somewhat time-consuming task, at least in the context of desiring the quickest possible spool replacement, and also carries with it the possibility of losing the nut that retains the spool on the reel.
Thus, although my U.S. Pat. No. 6,286,772 provides an excellent fly fishing reel, there remain areas in which improvement would be desirable.